1. Field of the Invention
The technical scope of the invention is that of devices to ensure the protection of the floor of a land vehicle against mines.
2. Description of the Related Art
To protect the floor of a land vehicle it is known to position armor under the floor so as to absorb and/or deviate the blast produced by the mine. Know armor comprises one or several metallic or composite layers and possibly deflector means.
Patent DE10144208 thus describes armor incorporating a convex caisson covering the vehicle floor. The shape of the caisson ensures the deviation of part of the mine's blast.
These known types of armor or protection devices are usually of constant thickness over the full width to be protected and are defined according to the maximal constraints generated by the mine. This results in a considerable mass for the armor which prejudices the vehicle's mobility. It also results in reduced ground clearance.
A device to protect a vehicle floor is known by patent WO03/102489 which comprises different elements fixed by bolts (two longitudinal beams, transversal beams, oblique lateral beams, and armor plates). In such a device there are several armor plates fastened to the beams and covering specific zones of reduced dimension. The architecture is not optimized with regard to the transmission of stresses.